The steel industry is one of the largest industries, and it is growing as the demand for structural steel structures is increasing. Today, structural steel is one of the most widely used raw materials for commercial and residential constructions. Benefits such as durability, cost-effectiveness, and environment-friendliness, makes steel the first choice for engineers, architects, designers, and fabricators. There are four different types of steel, namely carbon, alloy, stainless and tool steel. Out of these four, the two most popular ones are carbon and alloy steel. In this article, we will compare these two types of steel.
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Carbon steel
Carbon steel is made up of carbon and iron and several other elements such as manganese, silicon, and copper in small percentages. Carbon steel is dull and matte-like in appearance and gets corroded easily. As the content of carbon present in carbon steel is high, it is hard, less flexible and has a low liquifying point. Based on the carbon content, there are four types of carbon steel based on the amount of carbon in the alloy. Here are the four types of carbon steel:
- Low carbon - Low carbon steel is also called mild steel. It has around 0.05 to 0.25% of carbon and about 0.04% of manganese. It costs less and is easy to shape.
- Medium carbon - Medium carbon steel has a carbon content of around 0.29 to 0.54%, containing 0.60 to 1.65% of manganese. It balances ductility and strength and has good resistance to wear and tear.
- High carbon - High carbon steel has 0.59 to 0.95% of carbon content along with 0.30 to 0.90% of manganese. This type of carbon steel is ideal for making high strength wires, edge tools, and spring as it has held good shape memory.
- Very high carbon - Very high carbon steel has the highest carbon content among all the four types of carbon steel. It has a carbon content of around 0.96 to 2.1%. Such a high carbon content makes it a solid material, but it needs to be handled carefully as it is brittle.
Alloy steel
Alloy steel is a mixture of metals like nickel, copper, and aluminum in varying proportions to manipulate the properties of steel. Based on the percentage of metals, its ductility, corrosion resistance, hardenability, and weldability is managed. There are two types of alloy steel namely, high alloy steel and low alloy steel.
- High alloy steel - High alloy steel has a high percentage of alloying elements. Stainless steel is the most common high alloy steel containing 12% of chromium.
- Low alloy steel - Low alloy steel has 1 to 5% of alloying elements. Depending on the chosen alloys, low alloy steel has different strength and uses.
Alloy steel is cheaper and finds its application in jet engines, spacecraft and nuclear reactors. Due to the ferromagnetic properties of iron, it is widely used electric motors, power generators, and transformers where magnetism is essential.
At Northern Weldarc, we deal with fabrication work for structural steel structures. Our team has highly experienced and well-trained fabricators to help you out with fabrication work at your construction site. If you are looking to hire steel fabricators, contact us.
